The Groupe Sociétés Religions Laïcités (GSRL) remains today Europe's biggest social science research centre working on contemporary religion.
Based in Aubervilliers (Campus Condorcet), it upgraded this year its website.
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The Groupe Sociétés Religions Laïcités (GSRL) remains today Europe's biggest social science research centre working on contemporary religion.
Based in Aubervilliers (Campus Condorcet), it upgraded this year its website.
Edited by Jonathan Laurence, this new book on Secularism in Comparative perspective
Includes many non-Western experiences and viewpoints on how secularism is theorized and lived
Featuring the writing of preeminent scholars – such as Michael Walzer, Asma Afsaruddin, Sudipta Kaviraj AND Carol Ferrara, who wrote an essay on France, which provides a thorough history of the 1789 French Revolution, Church-state relations, colonialism, and education, and how the intersection of these elements with the evolution of French secularism led to modern-day laïcité
This afternoon, I was fortunate enough to attend the GSRL's monthly research seminar at Campus Condorcet.
We enjoyed a remarkable presentation of this book :
Asia and the Secular, Francophone Perspectives in a Global Age
This volume looks at the secular state in the context of contemporary Asia and investigates whether there existed before modernity antecedents to the condition of secularity, understood as the differentiation of the sphere of the religious from other spheres of social life. The chapters presented in this book examine this issue in national contexts by looking at the historical formation of lexicons that defined the "secular", the "secular state," and "secularism". This approach requires paying attention to modern vernacular languages and their precedents in written traditions with often a very long tradition. This book presents three interpretive frameworks: multiple modernities, variety of secularisms, and typologies of post-colonial secular states.
Want to discover The groundbreaking volume published by Philippe Portier and Jean-Paul Willaime about religion and secularism in France ?
Reminder, Philippe Portier is Professor of History and Sociology of Secularism at Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, PSL, France, and Jean-Paul Willaime is Emerite Professor of History and Sociology of Protestantism at Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, PSL, France. Both are outstanding scholars
Here are some points from the Chapter introduction (link)
Philippe Portier is Professor of History and Sociology of Secularism at Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, PSL, France.
Jean-Paul Willaime is Emerite Professor of History and Sociology of Protestantism at Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, PSL, France. Both are outstanding scholars.
This groundbreaking volume explores the dynamic life of religion and politics in France and investigates the extent to which the French idea of secularisation has been pushed to be more thorough and radical in its interaction with its other European counterparts.
A must-read !
François-Marie Arouet (Voltaire), buried in the Paris Pantheon, remarked: “God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well.” Voltaire, invoking his chronic sense of absurdity, would be smirking at the new social harmony in France as hardcore French secularists and Muslim women in public places conceal their faces (noses, mouths, and eyes) to protect themselves from Covid-19.
Thnak you L. Ali Khan for this interesting piece boosting debate. Link
While French laïcité is often considered something fixed, its daily deployment is rather messy. What might we learn if we study the governance of religion from a dynamic bottom-up perspective? Using an ethnographic approach, this book examines everyday secularism in the making. How do city actors understand, frame and govern religious diversity? Which local factors play a role in those processes? In Urban Secularism: Negotiating Religious Diversity in Europe, Julia Martínez-Ariño brings the reader closer to the entrails of laïcité. She provides detailed accounts of the ways religious groups, city officials, municipal employees, secularist actors and other civil-society organisations negotiate concrete public expressions of religion.
To read more, and order Dr. Julia Martinez-Arino's book, click here (link)
Major representatives of the three branches of French Christianity, Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox speak out in a column published in the daily Le Figaro yesterday.
They warn about the current "separatism bill" and the threat of an increased State control over churches and religions.
For them, freedom is at stake.
France's particular brand of secularism, known as "laïcité", is considered a backbone of the French Republic. And yet this separation of church and state is a touchy subject and often misunderstood. Its backers say it's the glue that lets the French live together in harmony despite their differences, but critics say it's anti-religious and increasingly used to stigmatise Muslims. So what exactly is "laïcité" and is it compatible with a modern multicultural society? Florence Villeminot and Genie Godula take a closer look in this episode of French Connections Plus.
The French national motto is Freedom, Equality, Fraternity.
Will the current French government remember its first word, "Freedom"?
As it is heading toward a new law targeting "separatism", concerns rise.
Among French religious circles, many are currently debating about the way Jean Castex (French Prime Minister) and his government are dealing with Covid-19 restrictions. According to President Emmanuel Macron's last announcements, France will begin to ease its strict coronavirus restrictions this weekend, allowing "non-essential shops" to reopen.
French Supermarkets are already widely open, with no resctriction except respecting the mandatory safety precautions. French TGV and trains are also packed with people who share up to 4-5 hours together in a confined environment.
This blog should have advertised earlier about this website. But better late than never!
As 2014 just began, let's emphasize the great value of France.fr, officially launched in 2010.
France.fr is the multilingual website of reference about France, intended for the international general public. Religion and secularism topics are part of it, as one can check here (link).
For quite a long time, atheism and secularism were understudied. Not anymore.
While Religioscope devoted a big article in French on this issue this year, a new review devoted to these topics just appeared in 2012: its name is Secularism and non religion.
Last but not least, let's remind the very interesting issue of the open access e-journal Approching religion (vol 2, n°1, 2012). Theme "The New Visibility of Atheism in Europe".
I have recently discovered an interesting BBC page about French laïcité (particuliar French way to deal with Secularism).
Here is the link: BBC page on French Laïcité (secularism).
This page rightly emphasizes the importance of French History:
"Because of past precedent it is very easy for the French to interpret any strong religious views as a direct threat to their freedom and way of life".